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Monday, July 21, 2014

After a year and a half absence, I don't know who, if anyone, is reading this, but I'm so happy to be posting an entry once again. I've missed this so much.

A lot of happened since I last blogged on Life Is Sweets. Shortly after my last post, my husband was in a pretty bad car accident with a fairly long recovery. He did remarkably well and has returned to work and a normal life with, really, no lasting effects or troubles. We are so thankful. We also took a bit of time for traveling, moved into a new house, and, finally, have a new routine that has allowed me to get back to what I love - baking and creating in the kitchen!

Okay, so let's get to it. One of my favorite four year old girls was having a birthday party to celebrate and the theme was "Ariel" and princesses. I wanted to create something to incorporate both elements, while at the same time not obligating me to tackle the actual making of Ariel, which I accept is outside of my current skill set!

I'm pretty new to the fondant game, but it's more fun to work with than I expected and I'd like to do more with it. I have done some fondant projects in the past, such as these cow cupcakes, but I've held onto to this idea that everything on a cupcake should not only be edible, it should be tasty and delicious. If you have to peel off or remove items, what's the point? Well, maybe just being pretty is point enough! With all that said, here's how I made these cute princess crown toppers.

To begin, I rolled out some waxed paper and used painters tape to secure it. You will be working with a smallish amount of fondant, so if you don't have tape, use a generous piece of waxed paper and anchor it with heavy objects at either end for stability. That will work just fine.

I purchased a crown cookie cutter measuring approximately one inch tall. I bought Wilton branad pre-made fondant at Michaels craft store in hot pink and and rolled it out in a fairly thick layer, keeping mind I wanted to insert a toothpick through the bottom. Next, I began to cut out the crown shapes. (To prevent the fondant from drying out, keep what you are not using wrapped in plastic so it will remain pliable.)

I worked on about 4-5 crowns at a time. Once they were cut out, I inserted the toothpick.

If the toothpick is showing through the backside of the crown, "patch" it with a very small amount of fondant flattened with your fingers. Gently spread it on the exposed area to create a seal. If the crowns have already begun to dry and the fondant does not stick, use a very small amount of water to permanently secure it.

I wanted to give some visual interest to the crowns and decided to add some "pearls" to the tips. I thought Wilton Pearlized Sprinkles would be perfect for this. Since the fondant I chose was pink, I went with white sprinkles.

Cute! Yet...I thought something more was needed. I set the crowns and a layer of paper towel (to absorb moisture and leave them nice and stiff) and moved on to something else.

Then it came to me! Ages ago I purchased a cookie stamper set with tiny little letters. How cute would they look on the crowns? I chose my friend's first name initial, "K".

Adorable!! I was very pleased. Very simple with clean lines and a splash of "bling".

The next day, however, I still had these crowns on my mind. While shopping for supplies, I didn't really know where I was going with this, so I purchased some plastic crown rings to put on the top of the cupcakes as toppers in case my ideas didn't work out. I REALLY hoped not to use them and was glad I didn't have to for that purpose. BUT, I had some inspiration about using them as stampers on the fondants. Would that be effective to create more of a "crown" effect?

I lined a ring up and rolled it back and forth, pressing firmly but not so firm as to flatten or distort the shape.

Voila!

I stamped a "K" in the middle of the heart.

Perfect! Would some "pearls" be too much? Of course not!

To secure the sprinkles, press one into each point of the crown making sure there is a semi-circular indent for the sprinkle to rest in.

Using a small paintbrush (that's never been used for painting - I have a supply reserved for food projects only), apply a trace amount of water in each indent and them apply the sprinkle. Once dried, the sprinkle should be totally secured to the fondant.

Here is the progression of the crowns as I made them. I loved the final version with the ring impression so much I redid all of the crowns for the birthday party cupcakes.

Now, to take a plain frosted cupcake and transform it into something fit for a Princess on her birthday!

I found these adorable castle cupcake wrappers and knew I wanted to use them, too, for the final product.

All done!

But then again...what about some sparkles by adding a layer of edible disco dust?

Or maybe securing an edible sugar heart in the middle of the crown. Perhaps a fun jewel sticker for some sparkle? The possibilities are endless! Color combinations and and array of sprinkles, quins, edible glitter, stamps, etc., will allow you to make your own specialized cupcake topper for the Princesses in your life!

Stay tuned for the second part of this particular party...Mermaid Tail Cupcakes! I will post a tutorial detailing the steps to make these cutie cupcakes. Thanks for stopping by Life Is Sweets!!

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